Disposable douching apparatus

ABSTRACT

Disposable douching apparatus comprising a flexible squeeze bottle, a cap removably connected to the bottle, the cap having a hole therein and a thin disc-shaped member connected to the perimeter of the hole thereby completely sealing the hole, and a nozzle, one end of the nozzle including a circumferential lip at the end thereof and being extendable through said hole in said cap to break at least a portion of the circumferential connection between the disc-shaped member and the cap, the lip at the end of the nozzle engaging the inside of the cap for preventing removal thereof.

United States Patent 11 1 [111 3,754,553 Hewitt et al. Aug. 28, 1973[54] DISPOSABLE DOUCHING APPARATUS 2,588,381 3/1952 Gow et al. 128/232 1Shirley Hewitt, Fullemm- 333333332 25323 312 m ,2 3.;.:.::::::....:::::132553552 Calif.; Sal Masullo, Las Vegas, Nev.

[73 l Assignee: Arsald, Inc., Fullerton, Ialif. Gaudet [22] 7 Filed:Jan. 7, 1972 Attomey--Philip M. Hinderstein [21] Appl. No.: 216,179[5.7] ABS CT Disposable douching apparatus comprising a flexible il.128/2313: squeeze home acap removably connected to he bob 58 1 Field 224247 tle, the cap having a hole therein and a thin disc-shaped 128/248 "51 member connected to the perimeter of the hole thereby completelysealing the hole, and a nozzle. one end of the nozzle including acircumferential lip at the end [56] Rumm' thereof and being extendablethrough said hole in said 1 UNITED STATES PATENTS cap to break at leasta portion of the circumferential 2,664,893 1/1954 Kempel 128/232connection between the disc-shaped member and the g gg ggg :33? 2 cap,the lip at the end of the nozzle engaging the inside W I 3,057,352 WI1962 McKenna of the cap for prevemmg removal thereof 2,881,760 4/1959McGiveran et al.... 128/251 3 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures R i 7' 10 .x i 1l 50 y .6 i7 .74 s \X 1 DISPOSABLE DOUCHING APPARATUS BACKGROUND OF THEINVENTION l. Field of the Invention The present'invention relates to adisposable douching apparatus and, more particularly, to a completelysanitary apparatus for vaginal lavage which may be disposed after use.

2. Description of the Prior Art Conventional douching apparatuscomprises a flexible bag which is adapted to be filled with a liquiddouching solution and'either secured or held in an elevated position. Anelongated hose connects the bag with a suitable nozzle.

While such conventional douching apparatus is widely used,severalproblems are associated therewith. In the first instance, suchapparatus is cumbersome and inconvenient. to use. In addition, theapparatus is intended to be used repeatedly and must be cleaned andstored. This latter problem is especially troublesome in the case ofinstitutions, such as hospitals, convalescent homes, and the like. Morespecifically, each female patient must be assigned one of thebeforementioned types of douching apparatusand theapparatus .must besterilized before it is assigned to another patient. In addition, theuse ofsuch apparatus is a time-consuming process for .the nurse or otherattendant, which process includes the addition of a powdereddisinfectant into the flexible bag before each use.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION flexible squeezebottle, a cap removablyconnected to the bottle, the cap having a hole thereiniand a thindiscshaped member connected to the perimeter of the hole therebycompletelysealing the hole, and a nozzle, one

end of thenozzle including a circumferential lip at the endthereof andbeing extendable through-saidhole in said cap to break at least aportionof the circumferentialconnection between the: disc-shaped memberand the cap, the lip at the end otxthe nozzle engaging the im side ofthe cap for preventing removal thereof.

OBJECTS 1 ltis therefore an object of thepresent invention toprovidesdisposable douching apparatus.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide. avcompletely sanitary apparatus for vaginal lavage which may be disposedafter use. I

7 It is a still further object of the present invention to providea-convenient, efficient, easy to use, andi-nexpensive douchingapparatus.

-Itiis another object. of the present invention toprovide a disposabledouching apparatus including a flexible squeeze bottleand a nozzleconnectable thereto.

Still other objects,,features, and attendant advantages of thepresentinvention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from areading of the following detailed description of the preferredembodiment constructed in accordance therewith, taken in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawings wherein like numerals.

designate like parts in the several figures and wherein:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERREDEMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawings, the present disposabledouching apparatus, I generally designated I0, comprises a bottle,generally designated .20, a cap, gen- "erally designated 30, and anozzle, generally designated '40. Bottle 20 is a conventional,cylindrical bottle',.in'-- eluding an externally threaded neck 21. Thesignificant feature of bottle 20 is that it is made from a soft,flexible material, such as a soft plastic, so that it may be readilysqueezed, as shown in FIG. 3. In addition, bottle 20 would be providedwith ameasured amount of powdered disinfectant 22. Therefore, it is onlyneeessary'to fill bottle 20 with water and'it is ready for use.

Cap 30 has a generally conventional appearance ineluding a top portion31 and an internally threaded portion 32 which is-adapted to engage theexternal threads on neck 21 of bottle 20 m provide arelatively tightseal. Positioned in the center of top portion 31 of cap 30 is a circularhole 33 which extends entirely therethrough. For reasons which willappear more fully hereinafter, extending axially from the bottom surface34 of top portion 31 of cap 30 is a cylindrical sleeve 35', sleeve 35being coaxial with hole 33. Finally, cap 30 includes a thin, disc-shapedmember 36 connected along the circumference thereof to the inner surfaceof sleeve 35, at the end thereof farthest from top portion 31 of cap 30.In this manner, with member 36 sealing hole 33' and cap 30 in contactwith bottle 20, the inside of bot tle 20' is entirely enclosed andremains sterilizedJOn the other hand, the connectionbetween member 36and sleeve 35 is an extremely fragile one which is adapted to readilybreak in the presence of any ax'ia'l; force.

Nozzle 40 is of conventional configuration including ahollow body 4!having a plurality of openings 42 at one end of 43 thereof. The'other'end 44 of body is adapted tobe connected to cap 30 to conduct theliquid in bottle 20 to openings 42. More specifically, body 41 of nozzle40 terminates at end 44 in a flat surface 45 which is adapted to engagethe outer surface of top portion 31 of cap 30. Extending't'rom surface4'5'is ahollow, elongated plug 46 which is adapted to extend tween theend of sleeve 35 and the surface 37 of cap 30. In this manner, lip 47 isadapted to engage the end of sleeve 35 after insertion therethrough forpreventing removal of plug 46 from sleeve 35.

Lip 47 may be provided by forming the end of plug 46 into the shape of asegment of a cone 48, the small diameter end of cone 48 having adiameter less than the inner diameter of sleeve 35 and the largediameter end of cone 48 having a diameter greater than the innerdiameter of sleeve 35. In this manner, the small diameter end of cone 48provides a surface for applying an axial force to member 36 to break atleast a portion of the circumferential connection between member 36 andthe inner surface of sleeve 35 upon insertion of plug 46 into sleeve 34and the large diameter end of cone 48 acts as lip 47.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that sleeve 35 may beentirely eliminated and that member 36 may be placed directly acrosshole 33, coplanar with surface 34 or intermediate surfaces 34 and 37.This will simply require a corresponding shortening of the length ofplug 46. However, by providing sleeve 35, sleeve 35 provides a channelfor guiding plug 46 during insertion of nozzle 40 into cap 30.Furthermore, by forming plug 46 into a plurality of identicalcone-shaped segments 48-50, as shown, the remaining cone-shapedsegments49 and 50 are operative to dig into the inner surface of sleeve 35,providing an effective fluid-tight seal between cap 30 and nozzle 40.

In operation, douching apparatus is conveniently provided with powdereddisinfectant 22 in ontainer and with cap tightly engaging neck 21. Atthis time, nozzle 40 is completely separate and member 36 completelyseals hole 33, preventing contamination of powdered disinfectant 22.When ready for use, cap 30 is removed and plug 46 of nozzle 40 isinserted into hole 33 in cap 30 and pushed axially until cone-shapedsegment 48 breaks the connection between member 36 and sleeve and untillip 47 snaps into position, as shown in FIG. 3. Container 20 may then befilled with water at the desired temperature. Cap 30 having nozzle 40attached thereto is then connected to bottle 20 and bottle 20 is shakenthoroughly to dissolve disinfectant 22. In this simple, convenient, andefficient manner, douching apparatus 10 is now ready for use and thesolution in bottle 20 may be readily expelled through holes 42 in nozzle40 by the simple expedient of squeezing bottle 20, as shown in FIG. 3.After use, douching apparatus 10 may be readily disassembled by firmlygrasping bottle 20 and nozzle 40 and pulling in opposite directions anddisposing of the two parts in the original container.

It can therefore be seen that in accordance with the present inventionthere is provided a disposable douching apparatus 10 which completelysolves all of the problems discussed previously. In the first instance,apparatusvlo is convenient, simple, and efficient to use, and may bemanufactured and sold so inexpensively that it may be readily used onlyonce and disposed thereafter. Since apparatus 10 is a one-time,disposable unit, the problems of sterilization and repeated use areeliminated, not only for the individual user, but also for theinstitutional user. In the latter case, substantial sav- 4, ings in costand attendant time is realized;

While the invention has been described with respect to a preferredphysical 'ei'nbodiment constructed in accordance therewith, it will beapparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications andimprovements may be made without departing from the scope andthe.

spirit of the invention. Accordingly, it is to be understood that theinvention is not to be limited by the specific illustrative embodiments,but only by the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. Disposable douching apparatus comprising:

a flexible squeeze bottle;

a cap removably connected to said bottle, said cap having a circularhole in the top portion thereof;

a cylindrical sleeve, one end of said sleeve being connected to theinside surface of said top portion of said cap, coaxial with said holetherein;

a thin, disc-shaped member connected along the circumference thereof tothe inner surface of said sleeve, at the other end thereof, therebycompletely sealing said hole in said cap, said connection being readilybreakable under the influence of a slight axial force;

a hollow nozzle having a plurality of openings at one end thereof andterminating in a flat surface at the other end thereof which is adaptedto engage the outside surface of said top portion of said cap; and

a hollow, elongated plug, one end of said plug being connected to saidflat surface of said nozzle, said plug having a circumferential lipadjacent the other end thereof, said lip having a diameter slightlygreater than the inner diameter of said sleeve, the distance betweensaid circumferential lip and said flat surface being approximately equalto the distance between said outer surface of said top portion of saidcap and said other end of said sleeve whereby said sleeve provides achannel to guide said plug to saiddisc-shaped member, said other end ofsaid plug being adapted to apply an axial force to said disc-shapedmember to break said connection, said lip engaging said other end ofsaid sleeve thereby preventing removal of said plug therefrom.

2. Disposable douching apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said otherend of said plug has the shape of a segment of a cone, the smalldiameter end of said cone being farthest from said nozzle and having adiameter less than the inner diameter of said sleeve, said smalldiameter end of said cone applying said axial force to said disc-shapedmember, the large diameter end of said cone having a diameter greaterthan the inner diameter of said sleeve and acting as saidcircumferential lip.

3. Disposable douching apparatus according to claim 2 wherein said plugincludes a plurality of said coneshaped segments, positioned end-to-end,the large diameter ends of the segments between said lip and said otherend of said nozzle digging into said inner surface of said sleeveproviding an effective fluid-tight seal between said cap and saidnozzle.

* a s t 1:

1. Disposable douching apparatus comprising: a flexible squeeze bottle;a cap removably connected to said bottle, said cap having a circularhole in the top portion thereof; a cylindrical sleeve, one end of saidsleeve being connected to the inside surface of said top portion of saidcap, coaxial with said hole therein; a thin, disc-shaped membeRconnected along the circumference thereof to the inner surface of saidsleeve, at the other end thereof, thereby completely sealing said holein said cap, said connection being readily breakable under the influenceof a slight axial force; a hollow nozzle having a plurality of openingsat one end thereof and terminating in a flat surface at the other endthereof which is adapted to engage the outside surface of said topportion of said cap; and a hollow, elongated plug, one end of said plugbeing connected to said flat surface of said nozzle, said plug having acircumferential lip adjacent the other end thereof, said lip having adiameter slightly greater than the inner diameter of said sleeve, thedistance between said circumferential lip and said flat surface beingapproximately equal to the distance between said outer surface of saidtop portion of said cap and said other end of said sleeve whereby saidsleeve provides a channel to guide said plug to said disc-shaped member,said other end of said plug being adapted to apply an axial force tosaid disc-shaped member to break said connection, said lip engaging saidother end of said sleeve thereby preventing removal of said plugtherefrom.
 2. Disposable douching apparatus according to claim 1 whereinsaid other end of said plug has the shape of a segment of a cone, thesmall diameter end of said cone being farthest from said nozzle andhaving a diameter less than the inner diameter of said sleeve, saidsmall diameter end of said cone applying said axial force to saiddisc-shaped member, the large diameter end of said cone having adiameter greater than the inner diameter of said sleeve and acting assaid circumferential lip.
 3. Disposable douching apparatus according toclaim 2 wherein said plug includes a plurality of said cone-shapedsegments, positioned end-to-end, the large diameter ends of the segmentsbetween said lip and said other end of said nozzle digging into saidinner surface of said sleeve providing an effective fluid-tight sealbetween said cap and said nozzle.